


What You Know

by ElectricEuphonium



Category: Guardians of the Galaxy (Movies)
Genre: Coming Out, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, Fluff, Interspecies Romance, M/M, Team Feels
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-20
Updated: 2014-12-09
Packaged: 2018-02-26 08:46:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,045
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2645606
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElectricEuphonium/pseuds/ElectricEuphonium
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They basically start falling out of the closet.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Gamora

They're speaking in hushed tones late at night when Gamora finds out.

She's walking through the hall. After waking up from a particularly awful nightmare, she feels the need for comfort food and suddenly she can hear Peter and Rocket in the kitchen. They're trying to keep it down, but her advanced, finely-tuned hearing picks it up anyway, and she leans against the wall by the doorway to listen. After all, what's the use of hearing so great if you can't use it?

"Pete, I'm not embarrassed of ya," Rocket harshly whispers. "I'm just not sure if I'm ready to tell everybody."

"If you're not embarrassed of me, then why?"

"I...I just have issues with trusting people. You know that."

"That I do," he remarks. "I just don't like sneaking around like this. Feels like I'm not being completely honest with my crew. I trust them. I don't want there to be a bunch of secrets."

"Trust me, Quill, you're probably the most open idiot I know."

"I realize that. It's one of the reasons you love me."

She peeks out to the kitchen in time to see Peter leaning down to kiss Rocket on the lips, both of them smiling into it with Rocket's cheeks tinted red. Her mouth is in a grin as she ducks back. Peter and Rocket, together? She never thought that out of all of them, those two would be the ones to hook up. Gamora looks back and sees them looking adoringly into each other's eyes, like teenagers straight out of the stupid holo's that Peter has shown them, and she can't help but feel that they fit.

Doesn't mean that she can't have a bit of fun, though.

"Hello, nerds," she says, walking in quickly. They jump apart immediately, as she expects them to.

"Uh, hey, Gam," Rocket says, scratching behind his ear. The biped is trying to cover his blush by looking away. "I was just talking to Quill about-"

"I heard everything."

They look at her, jaws dropped while Gamora wears an authoritative smile.

"Fuck," sighs Rocket before going back over to Peter and settling on his bottom in the human's lap, Peter instinctively wrapping his arms around him. "Don't tell anyone, Gam. I...I ain't ready. It's still a little new, and - and I just-"

"Rocket, calm down," she laughs. "I understand you. I won't tell Groot or Drax. However..."

"Oh, boy, always gotta be something. What do ya want?"

"You have to promise me that you'll tell them at some point," she says, crossing her arms.

"We plan to," Peter remarks before Rocket can say anything. "Just, when he's ready."

"Of course, but, let me ask you something, Rocket."

He groans. "What is it?"

"Rocket, we're your friends. All of us. We've been through a lot of crazy stuff, yet it still seems you don't trust us completely. What possible harm could there be in letting the team know that you and Peter are together?"

"Aside from the obvious fact that it will ruin his reputation, cause ya can't have your captain boning a freak-"

"-Rocket..." Peter sighs and kisses the top of his head. "Stop."

"Fine. Anyway, besides that, I...I know how things'll go. Well, I was expecting you to be pretty disgusted but I guess you're somehow okay with it, but Drax? Groot? Hell, Groot'll be mad that I didn't tell him, but then they'll realize just like everyone else does eventually, that I'm some big joke, and they'll laugh at me! ...I know they will."

By the time Rocket finishes, Peter has his arms squeezing him tight and is resting his head on the biped's, shushing him. "Relax, babe. You know that's not true."

"He's right, Rocket," Gamora offers. "None of it. But, by all means, take your time, if you feel you need to."

Gamora gets up to leave. "I'll leave you two alone. I'm sure you want to talk to him a bit more, Peter. Well, that and...other things."

"You don't even know if we-"

"You do," she says, interrupting the Terran before he can even make his case. "I can smell him on you, Peter. Heightened senses."

As Gamora walks away, she thinks about how she can't recall seeing two people blush so much at the same time.


	2. Drax

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Boy I finally fuckin finished this huh

Drax finds out after a mission.

They should know something is up when the Nova Corps asks for them to do something that they claim "requires their expertise."

"Requires your expertise" apparently translates to "there's a bunch of big ass guys on Knowhere that are causing a ruckus and also possibly smuggling illegal things, go take care of it."

And so, when they get caught sneaking around them, Peter yells, "Screw it, go!"

Gamora's blades tango through the air, leaving crimson trails along with it. Rocket and Drax have always appreciated how graceful she is while still reaping destruction. Rocket does a quick roll out of cover and aims his weapon. It's one that he's been working on for a while, and he's pretty sure is gonna work _excellently_. He lifts the sight on it to his eyes, and aims for one of the big guys, who he now recognizes as Kree.

"Say goodnight, princess..." He murmurs, then pulls the trigger. It hits the Kree square in the chest.

Nothing happens.

Ok, must have been some sort of misfire. Before the guy can even recover, Rocket fires again. The blue ray hits him in the shoulder, but still, nothing. He looks to where he shot him and sees a crackling, dull yellow from where there should be a massive wound. He recognizes it.

"Anti-Projectile Tech!" He yells, quickly putting his weapon on his back and running on all fours to Groot, who is sending out vines to ensnare some of the thugs. He climbs up to his shoulders and looks around for Peter, finding his boyfriend walking confident as can be up to one of them, about to fire his blaster and realize, _Oh shit_ , it doesn't work.

Rocket quickly sets his blaster to the lowest setting he's put on it. "You'll thank me for this later. Pete...!"

He fires at Peter's gun and it hits right where he wanted it to, hitting the gun and only grazing Peter. "Peter, run...! Projectiles won't work on them!"

Peter quickly scans the area for Rocket as he nurses his hand while running. When they lock eyes, Peter still somehow finds the time to send Rocket a wink and a smarmy grin. Rocket has to wonder where he gets the energy. Not just to keep a positive attitude at all times, but to always be able to love him.

It sounds like some kind of cliche from Quill's music, but Rocket's able to admit that loving him isn't easy. He loves Peter, loves him more than anything else in the fucking universe, but sometimes he gets into moods where he's stuck thinking about the past or himself, and he's not much fun to be around then. Somehow, though, Peter is always there, _always_ , and never belittles him for what he's feeling, never tells him to man up, and most importantly, never makes him feel like something lesser. Rocket appreciates every single thing that Peter does for him, even if he doesn't explicitly say it.

"Let's get 'em, bud!" He yells to Groot, and they charge in.

Everything's going as planned, Rocket's hiding behind Groot's head as he's fighting off the Kree, and then there's a yell of "Rocket!" before everything goes black.

~

Rocket's having weird visions now, and he's not sure if he's awake or not. If he's dreaming then it's definitely a nightmare. He's watching Peter in a dark place. He looks injured, and he can't even walk. Peter has to crawl to Rocket while coughing up blood, but he's still trying to smile for him.

"Pete, stop...Y-you don't have to-"

He can't finish his sentence because the Peter in front of him (who he absolutely _needs_ to remember _isn't real_ ) coughs again, then makes a sickening strangled sound before his top half collapses five feet from Rocket. His head bounces with a crack off the ground and there's blood continuing to leak out of his mouth.

"...Pete? Ya alright...?" Rocket runs to him and nudges his arm with his foot. Peter's just playing a little trick. He's done this once before. This is gonna be like that...right? He's completely forgotten that this isn't real now, because it seems far too concrete a nightmare. Rocket lifts from under Peter's side and rolls him onto his back. "Pete, stay with me."

He feels Peter's neck, and it's slowly losing warmth. Peter is always warmer than average, his body heat almost seems to match with his personality, so this just feels _wrong_ in so many ways. He quickly presses his ear to Peter's chest, and hears nothing. "Fuck, fuck, no...!"

He desperately tries anything, but the same soulless gaze from eyes that once held more life than most planets continues to stare at him, almost accusingly. Rocket feels tears collecting in his eyes and he doesn't even try to stop them as a sob bubbles up in his throat. "Pete...Pete, c'mon...Don't do this to me..."

He simply collapses onto Peter's chest, gasping with sobs that aren't very loud, but still makes him feel like his world is getting destroyed. There's marks and wounds all over Peter's body that he's just now noticin. _Just like you never fucking notice anything until it's too late,_ his mind echoes bitterly.

"Pete," he inhales through a sob, "Why'd ya have to do this to me!? You can't just make me love you and then leave...! I fucking love you, okay...?! I've never said it out loud, you've always had to say it for me, but I fuckin' love you...! And..." He coughs sharply from the overexertion his vocal cords are going through.

"...And...you're not allowed to do this to me, you...I..." He can't do anything but trail off as sobs rack his small frame.

~

Rocket's eyes shoot open.

The walls are sterile and white. Inhuman. He looks around in a panic, ignoring the dull pain in his side and desperately searching for something recognizable. He feels an overwhelming weight lifted from his head when he sees Peter next to him, and already heading to his bedside.

When he gets there, Rocket grabs his shirt and pulls him down roughly, then slams their lips together and pulls apart to hold him tight. Peter returns the embrace after a moment. "Hey, what's-"

He pulls back to look Peter in the eyes. "I love you. I...da'st, I fucking love you. I don't know why I haven't said it yet, cause it's been true for a while. I just...I've been a fuckin' idiot."

"No, you haven't. You-"

" _Peter_ , just let me talk for a bit, dammit," he scolds. Peter gazes at him for a moment before nodding.

"I always think that people are going to think I'm a freak or monster, and usually they will, so I just build walls around myself...it's a lot easier that way. But...meeting you guys, fallin' for you...it's kinda let me know that if I have people I trust, I guess I don't really need all that shit. You guys won't stand for it, especially you. So...thanks, I guess."Peter just smiles fondly at Rocket and kisses him.

"Hey," he says after they break apart, "Wanna know something?"

"What...?"

"Drax has been here the whole time," he says, humor evident on his features.

"He fucking what?"

Rocket turns and sees Drax in the corner of the room. He looks up from a magazine that he's reading. "Uh...hey Drax...whatcha got there...?"

"It is a magazine, furred friend. Do not worry, I will not tell about your relationship with Peter."

Rocket sighs. "So, now, he and Gamora know. Might as well tell Groot..." Rocket puts his face in his hands.

"Hey," Peter says as he coaxes Rocket's face out. The biped looks up and there is such an anxious look on his face that Pete can't help but to hold him and stroke the fur between his ears. "It's gonna be okay."

Rocket sighs and lets him. "Maybe it will."


	3. Groot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "And I can't say it's what you know,  
> But you've known it the whole time,  
> Yeah, you've known it the whole time"
> 
> \- What You Know, Two Door Cinema Club

Groot finds out during their first time. As in, before anyone else.

Groot is only there because he messes up. He's trying to get out of his pot, against all of Rocket's insistence that he not, and he actually manages it. But then, he promptly falls off of his table in the corner of the room.

"Groo..." He groans. Groot's about to call to Rocket when he hears the shuffling of feet from outside the door. He recognizes the small, light clicking as Rocket and the heavy, careless ones as Peter. The door opens and they almost fall in. Groot uses his vines to climb up the leg of the table enough to peek over, and sees Peter lying on his back as Rocket is kissing him, running his hands over Peter's chest with his eyes shut tight.

Groot is surprised. He would often stand still in the corner whenever Rocket was with a partner, and he never got this intimate, preferring to instead have quick contact before forcing the person out.

Groot knows better, though: Rocket _aches_ for physical contact. When they're alone, Rocket always wants Groot to pet him or hold him, but he never lets that show in front of the others. If Peter is going to be intimate with Rocket, Groot is okay with it. He knows that Peter would insist on cuddling and other things that Rocket wants but is too proud to admit to or ask for.

When he hears a husky, "Flark, Quill, you're huge," Groot decides that maybe he should cover up his ears and shield his eyes.

~

"So, in short, I'm dating Quill. I-I hope you're alright with it, but I'd totally get if ya don't want to really talk to me anymore. Just tell me if ya don't..."

"I am Groot?"

"What do you mean, 'Why would I not want to talk to you anymore?' I'm...I'm boning your captain. I'm just taking him down to my level. Fuckin' ruining him and-"

"I am...Groot."

"...You...you...you mean..."

"I am Groot."

"Even back then...? You've known since then...?"

"I am Groot."

Rocket sways a bit, so Groot puts out branches to catch him when he falls. He scoots him gently into a hug. Rocket shakes his head and gazes up at him. "I can't believe you knew."

"I am Groot," he says, petting Rocket with some vines.

_It doesn't matter who you're with. No matter what, you'll always be my best friend._

"Thanks, buddy," he sniffs. "Now, I should probably get back to Peter."

Rocket manages out of Groot's hold and runs to the door. He looks back when he gets there. "You're just the fuckin' best, you know that...?"

Groot just shrugs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah a really short chapter, but that's because, SURPRISE, Rocket was making a big deal out of nothing. Eh, Peter loves him anyway
> 
> Next chapter will be the last, and it'll be pretty radical


	4. Everyone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone knows.

Peter calls a team meeting that Rocket reluctantly agrees to.

When everyone is gathered, Peter starts off. He claps his hands together, then announces, "Alright, so we're at a team meeting. We haven't had to call one since the...pancakes incident."

There's a collective shaking of heads and a slight shudder from Rocket.

"But! This is much more positive and not messy. As you all now know, me and Rocket are together. Dating. Romantically involved. I'm not the kind of captain who's all mysterious and shady, so I don't want there to be a lot of secrets and stuff. So. Ask any questions you have, right now. Get them out of your system." Rocket scampers up his side and sits on his shoulder, then uses Peter's head as an armrest to settle in with a look of anticipation.

"I anticipated the subject of this meeting, so..." Gamora pulls out a tablet. She shoots them a grin, then looks back to it and reads. "Which one of you tops?"

"Okay. Fantastic, fucking great," Rocket mutters into Peter's hair, his face burning up. "You answer the questions like that. Ya got less shame than me."

Even Peter's face was a little red. "Well, we're pretty versatile...mostly it's Rocket, but it's kinda 45-55 with it..."

Gamora nods and makes a check mark motion on her tablet.

Peter ventures to ask, "How many of those are there...?"

"Not too many more," she says with a dismissive wave of the hand. "Now, orientation you guys identify with? That's something I really wonder about. You were definitely into me."

"Bi, mainly guys," Rocket mutters from Peter's hair.

"Pansexual," Peter says with a grin.

Drax has his eyes wide in bewilderment. "Peter, how are you in a relationship with Rocket if you are only attracted to kitchenware?"

Rocket has to hang on to Peter's shoulder while the human guffaws and bends at the waist.

"Dammit, Drax," he gasps through laughs, "Pansexual just means I'm able to be attracted to anyone, no matter what they identify as."

Drax gives a nod of understanding as Gamora check marks again. She gets a look of excitement that Rocket and Peter both dread. "So...how did you guys get together? Seriously, that's been the biggest question I've had this whole time."

"I, too, have pondered on that."

"I am Groot."

Rocket and Peter share a look, both of them with smiles on their faces. Rocket gives a "go ahead" motion by twirling his hand forward towards the group and Peter starts the story with a gleam in his eyes.

~

Peter's walking through the Milano, right after they basically saved the entire frickin' universe, so he's feeling pretty great. He's exhausted but satisfied, kinda like how he feels after sex. Nothing could really bring him down right now.

Except maybe the sound of Rocket crying in his room.

He has to pass Rocket's room to get to his, so he hears the biped's cries. They're muffled sobs, but still heartbreaking, so he can't help but say something. He gives the metal a rap with his knuckle and asks, "Rocket...you okay in there...?"

"Yeah, Quill. I'm fine. Go away," he weakly shouts to the door, trying to keep up his tough exterior in his voice, but he can hear it cracking.

"Rocket..."

"Just...just fuckin' go away," he says dejectedly, and Rocket should know better, because with that kind of voice Quill is automatically opening the door. Rocket is sitting on the floor, leaned against his bed. The pot he put a stick from Groot into is placed on the floor in front of him.

Peter sighs and walks over to the biped, then sits down next to him so he's leaned against the bed, too. They sit like that for a bit. Peter occasionally glances over at Rocket, who's sniffling with eyes slightly reddened. His whiskers and the fur under his eyes are glistening in the fluorescent lights of his room like morning dew in the sun, and there are clearly tear tracks on his face. Peter isn't sure why he was crying until a few things about the situation make themselves clear, and then it's just obvious: Groot's stick, in his pot, not grown yet. Rocket's just crazy worried about his best friend.

"Rocket," he begins, clearing his throat as he hopes that the biped chooses to actually listen to him, "He's gonna grow back."

"He's never done this before," he mutters.

"What do you mean...? Taking this long to grow back?"

"He's never left before. I don't even know if this is gonna work. Probably won't," he scoffs, trying to dismiss it, but his eyes start to water regardless.

"Rocket, you can't think like that. Groot doesn't want you thinking like that." Peter slowly puts an arm around Rocket, just trying to see how he'll react. He tenses up and his ears shoot up, his eyes wide. Rocket's ears go back and he lets himself lose tension, leaning against Peter in what the human can't help but notice might be the only time Rocket's allowed himself to be comforted by someone besides Groot or Drax.

Rocket lets out strangled sobs into his friend's shirt, but Peter doesn't really try to say anything. He understands. The human slowly rubs up and down on Rocket's shoulder and arm. Now that he knows Rocket won't break his hands for ever considering touching him, he wants to help however he can. The fur is _soft_ , so he must have showered recently. Peter sniffs a bit in the air and his suspicions are confirmed. Rocket has a bit of a smell of some kind of shampoo, and he realizes what a pain showering must be for him.

He doesn't know why he's thinking about that when he should be trying to comfort Rocket more, because he just lost his best friend in the whole galaxy and nothing is going to change that until he (hopefully) grows back.

Rocket's sobs quiet as he clings tightly to Peter. The human slowly puts his arms around Rocket and lifts him onto his lap as he sighs and pets Rocket on the head. He hears a weak growl from him.

"I'm not a fuckin' pet, Quill," he sniffs.

"No, you're not. You're a person, we'll never forget that and we'll never treat you like anything less but maybe I just think you need a goddamn hug right now."

Rocket doesn't say anything, just looks up into Peter's eyes of his own volition for the first time since he came into the room. He searches them for something, a trick, superiority, anything, but he only finds empathy. He adjusts his vision to look at the whole of what's in front of him and realizes that he's a lot closer to Peter's face than he was before. Peter has moved his head near, too, and doesn't seem to be moving away. In fact, he might be moving towards him.

"Wait," he says, holding a hand up to Peter's suddenly very attractive features and appealing lips. "I...you...do ya even know what the hell you're gettin' yourself into?"

Peter is getting closer, leaning in more. Their lips are only a couple inches apart, and Peter is staring intently into Rocket's eyes. The biped is trembling. He wants Peter to close the space between them, but he doesn't even know _why_. He just wants it, bad. And Peter is more than happy to give it to him.

"Not a damn bit," he says, then kisses him.

~

"So, that's the gist of it," Peter remarks. He puts one of his hands on his hip and reaches up to scratch Rocket behind the ear.

"Anything else ya want to know?" Rocket says, leaning up slightly into Peter's touch.

Gamora smiles. "No, but there is something that I, and the the rest of us want you to know. Peter, Rocket, no matter what, we want you to know that we support you guys in everything you do. Always."

Drax smiles warmly at them and nods in agreement. "That's right. I, too, will stand with your choices."

"I am Groot!"

"Well, geez, buddy, ya didn't have to go that far..."

~

"I think that went pretty well, don't you?"

Peter settles down onto his bed where Rocket is already laying. He gets onto his side and pulls the covers over them, then pulls Rocket to his chest. The day's been slightly exhausting, and Peter's feeling it. He yawns and covers it with his hand, then leans down to kiss the top of Rocket's head.

"I don't get you people."

"What do you mean, babe?" Rocket grins and sighs in slight contempt when Peter uses that pet name that he knows the biped has an intense love-hate relationship with. He turns himself around to look at Peter's face. "They're all fine with it. All of 'em. I never expected that."

"I did," he chuckles. "They're good people."

"I always think that whenever I have something good going it's just going to get ruined."

"Well, what do you think of us? Do you think we're gonna just somehow mess this up?"

"...Not a chance in hell," Rocket says, and for once he actually believes it.


End file.
